TigerLily
by Tanwen
Summary: Lily Evans and James Potter are similar in that they're both brilliant, beautiful, and have amazing senses of humor. But what happens when he falls into company with the people who were born to drive her crazy? L/J, from just before first Year. Please R/R
1. Invitations

Hi, I'm Tanwen. I read Oy Angelia's fic, Pensieve, and it inspired me to get _something_ up, and I was in the mood to write a Lily/James fic. If you want to read something worthwhile, look at hers, but I'd much appreciate it if you could R/R mine, too. Oh, and in case you were wondering, I did invent the muggle suspicion about Owls just to give you yet another thing to hate Petunia and Vernon about ;)

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Invitations

By Tanwen

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Lily Evans, age 11, tripped through the grass, smiling at the postman as he handed her mail. She scanned through it. _Too bad we get all this junk…ads and the lot,_ she thought.

"Having some sort of birdwatcher's association party?" inquired the postman pleasantly. "Just so you know, I believe that owls are a sign of bad luck. Look out for twigs in the road!"

"What?" Lily looked up at her house and noticed a large tawny owl sitting on top of it. "No, I don't know why we have an owl on our roof" she stated, more calmly than she had hoped. Something about the owl seemed to say that it was here for her. The moment this thought crossed her mind, her elder sister, Petunia, slammed on the breaks from inside her brand-new car (a sixteenth birthday present) and let out a screech which Lily was sure would scare the bird away.

"What is that awful thing doing near our house?" she—we will not say said—gave the impression that she was trying to squeeze the words out of herself before she threw up.

"It's all right, dear. Just an owl." Her ruddy-faced boyfriend said the last word as if he was terribly afraid (of the owl or the fact he felt he was about to be barfed on, he didn't specify). He stroked her leg. "Your Vernon won't let any bad luck come to his pretty Petunia."

Lily snorted up her sleeve through what she considered a joke since Petunia clearly wasn't going to be comforted without a good snog, but made sure to hold her tongue. She had been terrified of Vernon ever since he had picked her up by the collar and made her swear that she wouldn't say a word of the fact that she had walked in on himself and his girlfriend doing more than was acceptable for people of their respective 16 and 17 years. "Well, then, I guess I'll be going into the house, then." She departed, bound to see what there was to do in her room. She didn't notice that as she left, the bird left, too.

*****

When inside, she regarded her room._ Smaller than Petunia's, _she thought bitterly, and then immediately reprimanded herself for the thought. It was mostly bookshelves, brimming with the volumes with which she immersed herself. One bulletin board hung on the wall over her bed, from which hung pictures of her friends and a report card, which stated that she had gotten straight A's in all of her classes and all of the teachers at St. Agatha's Prepatory Boarding School for Girls thought that she was the most wonderful person in the world and they just couldn't wait for her to get into the higher forms and become a Prefect. _Bit dull, really,_ she thought. _If I ever got into trouble, or did something different from everyone else…_ The thought trailed away as she regarded her window. The owl which had previously attracted attention from the roof was now perched on her windowsill, respectfully trying not to crumple the tinfoil placed there to keep the water out while figuring out what it was. She felt strangely calm, and not at all surprised to notice that the owl was dangling a manila envelope from its left leg. She strode over to the window and opened it. The owl hovered expectantly around her eye level, with its burdened leg thrust out. She untied the message, and went over to her bed.

"Thank you for bringing me…well…this, Mr. Owl," she said uncertainly, waving the envelope. "The least I can do for you is get you some water." The owl hooted happily, and she ran to fill the cup on her nightstand.

When the Owl had flown off out of her window, she opened the package. The addresse was written by hand, in green ink. On the back, she noticed a crest with a badger, a snake, a lion, and a raven. The address was odd enough—

Lily Evans

Smaller Bedroom

228 Heron Drive

When she opened the letter, she found what she saw even stranger:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

[Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards]

Dear Miss. Evans.

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September First. We await your owl by no later than August 13th.

Yours Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress

Lily was shocked to receive this letter. She had never thought, and didn't think she ever would have thought, of going anywhere but St. Agatha's Prep. A witch's school? This must be some practical joke, or a mistake. However, as she was about to put the whole 'joke' away for good, a note slipped out. It read:

A representative from a wizarding family will send you an owl as soon as he/she gets his/her invitation to school and arrange a time to talk to you. Await this contact before trying to purchase your books! This representative will also give you your train ticket.

Thoroughly perplexed, Lily sat down on her bed and awaited the owl's arrival, or at least a summons to dinner. However, as she suspected, the former came first, in the form of another owl, this time a huge snowy one. The letter ran as follows:

To Lily Evans (featherbed, smaller bedroom, 228 Heron Drive):

I have been asked to show you around and help you get to know the ropes of the wizarding world. As you can see, I have your addresse, and would like your permission to pick you up there tomorrow at nine o'clock, sharp so we can both pick up our equipment. My owl, Mirabilis, will stay with you until you have time to write a reply (which I hope will be in the affirmative) to this letter.

Sincerely,

James Potter

PS: You won't need to send your reply to Hogwarts until tomorrow, so WAIT UNTIL THEN!

Lily decided that this was reasonable, and was grateful to James Potter for setting her straight about the date. She hadn't realized that it was already August 12th, and she wouldn't want to miss an opportunity to learn about magic, even if it was all just a huge joke. She scribbled a note saying that she would love to come and learn about the wizarding world on a piece of paper on her desk, and then clumsily tied it to Mirabilis' leg and watched the owl fly off into the dusk. She heard her mother call her and decided that it was time to go downstairs for dinner…and a huge surprise for her parents.

~~~~~ Fifteen Minutes Before ~~~~~

James Potter was not surprised to find an owl awaiting him when he got back to his room from Junior League Quidditch practice. When he saw that it was a school owl, he was even less surprised and barely thought it worth his while to open it. He decided that he would open it, though, in case there were any special instructions for him…_you're part of the League, please join your house's Quidditch team without trying out_…and he was surprised when some special instructions did fall out.

You have been selected to show a muggle around Diagon Alley. Her name is Lily Evans, and you will find a picture of her enclosed. Her address is 228 Heron Drive, so please send her an owl immediately to set up a time to meet her. Enclosed are also seven Galleons to buy her an owl (muggles tend to have trouble adjusting to their new situations as witches and wizards so communication is comforting to them). Thank you for your trouble, and make sure your note is polite!

James didn't know what to think, but decided to send a note of acceptance back with the school owl first, and think about showing muggles around later. He shook his envelope upside down to find a picture of the girl he was supposed to lead around. Seeing her beautiful green eyes, red hair, and ravishing smile on her animated face made him think that it might not be too much of a chore to help her after all. He sent a note with his beautiful snowy owl, Mirabilis, to the addresse mentioned in his letter, and then ran downstairs to tell his parents that he would be out all day the next day and needed to borrow one of the spare broomsticks.

~~~~~

Had you been watching the proceedings at dinner on the night of August 12th, 1970, at 228 Heron Drive, you would have noticed a huge tension. The parents, Clement and Ravenna Evans, regarded their younger daughter with concern, while she nervously (and uncharacteristically) dropped her utensils. The meal proceeded in silence (as far as it could with the interludes of silverware-dropping) until the older sister, Petunia, yelled at the younger for making such a racket, and asked her (in an unusual display of concern) what in the world was the matter with her.

It was then that Lily Evans decided that she would attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, even if it was just a prank, and that she would care about her appearance the next day, and that she would invest her savings (or her parents') in the books listed in the package she had received. She cleared her throat and began.

"Mom, Dad, and I suppose Petunia, there's something I have to tell you. I won't be attending St. Agatha's next year, or ever again." Lily hoped this information was right, but doubted that she would need to go to normal prep school if she was going to be a witch. "The owl sitting on top of our house earlier today—" she said this with an uncomfortable glance at Petunia, who blanched, "—carried a message for me which I would like to relate to you. It said that I had been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and that I am to become a witch. Someone who knows about all this will pick me up at nine o'clock sharp and take me somewhere to get my materials. Mom, Dad, if I could have some money to pay for all this I'd really appreciate it, as I have so much to buy and I don't know how much any of it costs, or if I have enough. I think it's free to attend, and I'm sure that James will tell me about all that when he gets here." She said this all very fast, as if it would be easier for her family to process if she said it quickly.

"James?" questioned her father.

"My chaperone for tomorrow," Lily hastily explained.

"Wait a moment," said Petunia, with an ugly sneer on her face. "You mean to tell us that you plan on running off with some freak tomorrow, to do something totally unbelievable, impossible, and that you have no proof about, and you expect us to believe it? Ha!"

"Yes, actually, I do, and I would venture to add that this is far less unbelievable than the fact that you're going out with that—"

"That's quite enough, both of you! Petunia, one more word from you and you're grounded. Lily, if you could run and bring this letter you received from the…er…owl…" Their mother, who had started out firmly and resolutely in her statement, trailed off at the mention of the owl

"Actually, I have it right here. I thought you might want to look at it," replied Lily, casting a look of daggers at her sister. As soon as her parents read the contents of the letters (both from Hogwarts and James Potter), they were forced to admit that it would be a hard joke to pull off, especially with the owls.

"She must be lying about that!" exclaimed Petunia, hardly able to believe that for once, her sister was getting more attention than herself.

"I don't think that's possible. Well, we'll see what this young man looks like when he shows up. I think, however," said Ravenna Evans with a dazzling smile, "that you will, should he come, be allowed to at least listen to his story."

Lily thanked her parents, and then settled down to think about what she had heard.

~~~~~

James told his parents at dinner what he had agreed to do, and they smiled approvingly. His older sister, Cecilia, had mentored a young Molly Weasley when they had been on the verge of going to school. His parents, he was thankful, certainly didn't think that it was inappropriate for two eleven-year-olds to spend the day together, especially when one of them was their son.

As James got ready for bed, he thought about how thankful he was that his family had a large enough estate to provide for him whatever he chose to do, even if it was sitting around the house. He hadn't admitted it to anyone, but he was nervous about school, and he hoped that he could shake it off tomorrow. He fell asleep with Lily Evans in front of his eyes.

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Yay! My first chappy! How do you like it? Mmmmmmmmmmmm…James already likes Lily. Don't worry, they won't hate each other after Diagon Alley, but they won't have romantic interests either…He just thinks she's hot.

I hope that everyone is having a great summer and pppllleeeaaassseee review. I'm not going to demand reviews (I'll just write my fic) but if you could I might get off my lazy bum a little bit faster.

Tanwen ^.^


	2. Consider Yourself My Friend

Hi everybody (who's that, like, 4 people not that I don't appreciate it!)! Sorry this is so slow, I can write on the weekends, but uninterrupted internet time is hard to come by then, and I've been sick and not had a computer and lost my floppy…the verdict is, I'm crazy. ^.^

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Consider Yourself My Friend

By Tanwen

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James woke up at six in the morning on the 13th of August. He groggily put on his glasses, took a shower, and asked his plate for some corn toasties. It complied, and by eight o'clock he was out the door. He stowed the extra broom in a messenger bag at his side, and kicked up off the ground.

James loved to fly, more than he loved anything else in the world. He knew his parents always spoiled him, but he didn't think this was too bad because he got great stuff out of it. For his birthday the previous year (in November), they had given him a new broomstick, a Nimbus 700. He had wanted it ever since it came out, and as it was the newest, best thing that came up off the ground, the others on his Junior Quidditch League team, the Skybound, were all extremely jealous. He now let the wind rush through his hair as he flew over the countryside.  
  


After an hour or so (at exactly nine o'clock), he reached 228 Heron Drive and rang the doorbell, expecting a house elf to come running up and open the door for him, practically take his shoes off of him, and ask him whether or not he had already had breakfast, and make an exquisite one for him regardless of his answer.

What he had not expected was for Ravenna Evans herself to come up to him, regarding him slightly suspiciously, clear her expression, and do just about the same.

He hesitated before letting himself in, and Ravenna noticed. She put a kindly smile on her face and welcomed him. "I'm glad to see you show up, as we've been expecting you. I was hoping that it would not interfere with your shopping spree too much if you stayed for breakfast and answered a few of our questions. To start off, how are you planning to get wherever you're going, and what are you doing with that broom?"

James laughed as they entered the kitchen. "The broomsticks are for flying, of course! That's how we'll get to Diagon Alley." Clement Evans, who was sitting at the head of the table, didn't notice his jaw drop in amazement. Petunia gave James a look of utter disgust and stalked out of the room. But James was watching Lily, to see how she'd take the news that she was about to fly for an hour on something that she'd never considered to be more than a cleaning device. She looked shocked, afraid, eager, and anticipatory all at once. He wagered with himself that she would be a natural, from her graceful build and confidant bearing. "We'll have to fly above the clouds, of course," James continued, satisfied by her reaction. "Wouldn't want anyone to see us _flying._ But if you're done with your breakfast, I'd better go out and show you how. Sorry, Mrs. Evans," he said, turning to Ravenna, "But my letter said that I was supposed to explain things to _Lily,_ not her family, and I don't want to be expelled before term even starts! I'm sure that Lily will tell you everything you need to know when she gets home from today. Do you have a bag to carry your stuff, Lily?" he asked.

"Yep. Right here." Lily held up a messenger bag, slightly used and very personalized with patches, signatures, bumperstickers (one proudly proclaiming that the wearer was a vegetarian by means of a teary pig holding flowers and saying, "Don't eat me, I love you!"), and other personal touches.

Looking at the bag with a casual eye, James replied, "I honestly don't think that that's gonna fit your cauldron as well as your books, wand, owl, and so forth, so you probably want to consider buying one enchanted for more space when we get there." Seeing her look hurt, as if not wanting to give up an old friend, he added kindly, "When you get to school, you can have it enchanted, but in the meantime, I recommend buying one that will really serve your purposes."

Although the rest of the family had officially dropped out of the conversation, Lily bravely went on. "Okay, sounds good. Now, I think you mentioned flying…"

"Ah yes. Do you have a backyard where I can show you the basics?"

Lily showed him out the backyard, and noticed her parents following them. James took out the broomstick intended for Lily and placed it on the ground a few feet away from his own. "Now, the first thing you want to do is say 'Up.' The broom should come straight into your hand, but if it doesn't, don't be discouraged." James neglected to mention that it was illegal for him to be teaching her how to fly, and as he watched his student progress he hoped with his whole heart that the Ministry of Magic wouldn't catch up with him on this one.

*****

By the end of a quarter of an hour, Lily had made remarkable progress and James had deemed her ready to fly. 

"When I say 'go,' launch off like I showed you," he said. Lily had a set look on her face, and seemed determined to make the best of her limited training.

They flew higher and higher, until James thought that they were at the height recommended by his coach for flying over muggle settlements. He then began to explain.

"Okay, so you're going to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I'm going to tell you what I know about it, which I know from my sister.

"First of all, there are four Houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. There's some sort of test that determines which one you're in. All my family has been in Gryffindor, which means I'll prob'ly be in it too, but not necessarily. I don't know what the criteria are for determining Houses, but its kinda like your family. If you're strongly opposed to your House, you can switch houses, too.

"We have lots of classes, which we'll find out about when we get there. And that brings me to the where. Your parents probably want to know where they can write to you." Seeing Lily nod in the affirmative, he went on, "I've been given money to buy you an owl. That's how we communicate in the wizarding world—by Owl Post. Your parents just write you a message, and give it to your owl. Nobody but the Professors at Hogwarts and the Owls know exactly where the school is. You get there by train.

"One thing that's very important to some wizarding families is bloodline. Purebloods are people from families who have been wizards for a really long time, with only the occasional Squib, or person who's from a wizarding family but isn't a wizard. Non-magic people are muggles. Some purebloods think that magic should only be taught to them, and that muggles who pioneer wizarding in their families are freaks and should be annihilated. They call these muggles—people like you, mind—mudbloods." He spat the word. "If anyone calls you that, it's a HUGE insult, so tell someone or insult them back, but don't just stand there because then they'll think that you're an ignorant pushover, too.

"Ah! Here we are," he said as they landed. "Any questions, or can we go and get money?" Although Lily had many questions she wanted answers to, she decided to keep quiet and wait to see what was what.

First, they stopped by Gringotts, the wizarding bank, where a shriveled old goblin gave James a heaping pile of gold and handed Lily a smaller one in exchange for her twenty pound notes. Lily knew that she should have been surprised about the goblin, but got the idea that a) she'd used up her quotient of surprise for practically her entire lifetime and b) if she hadn't, there would be plenty other things to be surprised about today.

She was right. She was surprised when the tape measure in Madam Malkior's robe shop measured her without any human assistance. She was surprised when she set down a book in Flourish and Blotts, the book and office supply store, and it flew back to its place on the shelf. She was surprised when she saw someone collapse an oversize cauldron and stuff it in his pocket. She was surprised when she waved her wand in Olivander's Fine Wands and red and gold sparks flew out of it, and was surprised when Mr. Olivander looked at her and James in a funny angle and muttered, "One invite." And she was completely surprised when, on the way to the apothecary, she reached a crossroads and turned to ask James which way to go and found that he wasn't there.

Her shock and rage at this discovery were immense. She couldn't believe that he had left her there for no apparent reason. Retracing her steps to the mob outside Quality Quidditch Supplies, she found her reason. A tall boy with black hair had James by the collar and was holding him and pointing excitedly at the window display. James was angrily gesticulating in the direction of the crossroads and saying "But I have to go, Sirius!"

Lily butted in on their conversation, if it could be called such. "James, I thought that you wouldn't just leave me in the middle of the road. Honestly…"

"Sorry, Lily, but this rogue pulled me over to look at the new brooms." He grinned wolfishly in Sirius' direction, then went on wistfully, "Some of them are even nicer than my Nimbus 700. By the way, this is Sirius Black, troublemaker and reason for redecoration for 11 years."

"I hope James hasn't told you all my defects. He may as well …On second thought, don't. I forgot you actually _know_ all my defects. May I have the pleasure of knowing the name of the fair lady?" he said half sarcastically to James. It was clear, however, that he admired Lily. _Funny, isn't it, thought Lily, __that everyone at St. Agatha's thought I was too tall and unattractive, besides being super weird for being vegetarian, while these wizarding guys seem to think I'm not bad._

"Oh, right," said James, remembering his manners. "This is Lily Evans, of 228 Heron Drive, and I've been asked to chaperone her for today."

"Lucky rogue," said Sirius. His expression suddenly underwent total change from good humored to over-dramatically pouty (and, in Lily's eyes, extremely bratty). "You'll notice that while James has the honor of escorting pretty ladies _I_ get stuck here all alone, with no one but my sisters to comfort me in my times of distress or help me find friends."

"You'll survive," James assured. "Now where's everyone?"

Feeling slightly put out by their talk of her in front of her face and the fact that they seemed not at all inclined to add her to their lively chat, Lily decided to put in a word or to of her own, even if it was a question. "Everyone?"

"I'm so sorry, Lily, I forgot!" James was completely apologetic. "Let's see, there's Peter Petttigrew, who we haven't seen or thrown a pity party for as of yet this week, which I'm sure he's off moping about as we speak, and Serifina Ting, who we're sure will be a Ravenclaw because she's so smart, besides being the second fastest thing on a broom, me being the first, and Rachel Glowdive, who's going to be Peter's girlfriend since we haven't thrown a pity party for her either and they'll have to go console each other, and Remus Lupin, who's probably sick or something and will make an interesting threesome with those other two because _he'll want a pity party next once his kind, stoic personality rubs off—he's a nice chap but I think that he's almost too good to be true, and that adorable but aggressive blonde Tessa Williams, who's also a bit of a wanker, but we'll excuse her…" Lily was beginning to get more than a little of the impression that James and Sirius were extremely spoiled and had it in their blood to be prats, but as this thought formed, James was back on again and she didn't want to miss anything since she'd probably want to work out who these people were and it would be an advantage to know James's impressions of them She listened. "…And then there's Luciana Vinebreeze, who's an airy ditz who uses her hair to get her way, Arielle Anglica, who's nice and an awesome Quidditch Seeker, and…well, that's about it for our friends." Sirius nodded vigourously in agreement, then averted his eyes to Lily. "Not that we aren't sure we'll make plenty more once we meet everyone at school. Nice subtlety with the eye thing, Sirius," he said, before cackling, which assured the other two that he had every intention of taking any and all subtlety out of the gesture._

"Which," said Sirius calmly, with a pointed look at James, "brings us to our enemies."

"Ooh, ooh, ooh, I know one!" said James, his hand waving wildly in the air. "Stinky Sniveling Stupid Severus Snape!"

"And he's your enemy _because…" said Lily, her tone implying that she wanted James to finish her sentence for her._

"Oh, I thought you'd _like James's list of adjectives," said Sirius, back to his pouty face (he'd forgotten about it during James's witty description)._

"Well, I can't actually remember our original feud," said James uncomfortably, "But he's done plenty of evil things since to make us hate him, and we're sure the feeling is mutual. Stupid wanker, we're sure he'll be a Slytherin, and that's reason enough to hate him."

"Are you insulting my Mum? She was a Slytherin," exclaimed Sirius huffily to James.

"I love your mum dearly, but she's _the_ exception," said James, obviously tired of this discussion. "Hey look, there's Remus, Peter, and Arielle! Now you can judge for yourself what they're like. As for our enemies…" he paused as if unwilling to give up such a great opportunity to rant against those he hated most "…Well, you can judge for yourself when we get to school."

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Hpe you like it, and thanks for reviews, appreciated as always. *such kind people there are on fanfiction.net/* I like to talk to myself.

As always, have a nice however long it takes me to write another chapter (I've already started hope it doesn't take me like another year), and be nice to the bunnies. And don't club any baby seals.  ^.^

Thanks to NoT a FlAmE for making me get off my lazy ass a little so I could post a chapter for once.


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